Grass twine.



0. TI wI'IITE.`

- GRASS- TWINE. APPLICATION FILED mn: 21, IsIa.

Patented Jima 2 2, 1915.

lzz/en or @551cm rien GRASS TVVINE.

. manica.

T all whom t may concern Y Be it known that I, OssIAN T. WAITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oshkosh, in the county of Winnebago and State of l/Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grass Twine, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to the formation and construction ofpa grass twine used in the production of grass rugs, and to the process of weaving the rugs when the twine of the present invention is utilized; and relates further to the texture of the woven rug when formed of said twine.

The objects of the present invention are to enable the woof of the rug to be formed of a grass twine which is of relatively small diameter, thus resulting in an obvious reduction in the cost of manufacture due to the'saving of material, and to so form this twine as to eliminate the danger of its breaking or separating during the weaving operation; to form and construct the twine so as to allow of the use of short lengths of grass and yet produce a rug which is commercially practical; and to allow the twine to be given a relatively sharp bend along the.

ed e during the weaving operation, so that a Erm selvage edge is maintained along'the edges of the'rug.

The invention further consists in the features of construction and combinationv of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

ln the drawings: Figure l is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of weaving grass rugs; and Fig. 2 an enlarged sectional detail showing the manner in which the twine is acted upon during the weaving 40 operation, and showing more clearly the construction of the twine.

According to the present practice of weaving so-called grass rugs, it is customary to spin the woof twine out of a natural product which is commonly known as wire grass. rThis so-called grass twine is not a true grass, but belongs rather to the group ofsedges, but for purposes of convenience the term grass as used in this specification, will be understood to refer to such fibrous material having grass -like properties. This sedge as is well known has a smooth hard exterior and is not capable of adhering one to the vother by reason of surface friction when placed in Vparallel condition. The

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led J une 27, 1913.

Fatented J une 2,2, 1915.

Serial No. 776,056.

woof twine is ordinarily formed to comprise a body portion consisting of overlapping lengths of straight-laid untwisted grass-like material loosely wound with a spiral wrapping thread, which wrapping thread ali'ords 60 the only binder for preventing disintegration of the twine. It is desirable to wrap the grass-like material somewhat loosely in order to afford a relatively soft twine for weaving purposes. This soft quality is'de- 65 sirable for several reasons. In the first place if the Woof twine is soft, it permits the warp of the completed rug to be embedded into the woof, and thereby increases the wearing properties of the rug by protecting the warp 7 0 threads against excessive wear to which they would be subjected if the woof were hard and firm. In the second place, by spinning the woof twine loosely, the bulk of the twine is relatively increased and the supply' 7 5 correspondingly conserved; and in the third place a relatively soft or loose woof twine affords a softer surface texture in the completed rug which is particularly desirable where the rugs are intended for use in bathrooms or bed-rooms, or other places where they are contacted by the bare feet of the occupants.

In order to secure a soft loose woof twine of the character indicated, however, it is necessary to sacriiice tensile strength to a corresponding degree, and this particularly is the case where the grass is laid straight or untwisted. Tensile strength is not required in the completed rug, but a certain amount of strength is necessary in order to utilize the twine in the loom upon which the rugs are woven, and the object of the present invention is to so form the twine and to so conduct the weaving operation as to conserve the twine against breakage during the weaving operation, and particularly to protect the twine against breakage due to the striking of the shuttle across the loom. By forming the twine in the manner to be hereinafter described, a smaller or less bulky twine canbeutilized without sacrice of the necessary amount of tensile strength required in the weaving operation, thereby conserving the supply of wire-grass or'like '105 material, and reducing the waste incident to breakage by the loom to a minimum. Furthermore, by utilizing the twine of this invention, the Woof strand can be bent more sharply and tightly allang the selvage edge,

body of the twine is an inextensible core thereby eliminating the necessity of using a selvage-binding strip which is at present commonly employed in the manufacture of grass rugs. v

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. l, a shuttle 3 is illustrated, which is projected back and forth across the loom by means of striker arms 4l placed on opposite sides of the loom. This operation is well known to anybody versed in theV art to which the present linvention relates, and need not be described in detail. It is suficient to state that the twine is looped during the weaving operation about pins 5.v

The twine of the present invention is illustrated more clearly in Fig. 2, and as there shown comprises a body 6 consisting of a seriesv of parallel overlapping lengths of grass 7 which are loosely bound by a spiralV wrapping cord 8. This wrapping cord or thread is placed on the twine loosely in order to give the soft property to the twine which is desirable for the reasons heretofore set forth'.

Running approximately central of the thread 9. This core thread is of a tensile strength that will snap or give way when Athe shuttle is projected during the-weaving opera-tien; one kind of thread which I have selected as adapted for thisV purpose is a number 32 or 35 two ply cotton yarn, although 'the invention is not intendedV to be limited to the thread specically named, and it is due'entirely to the presence of this'core thread that it is possible to make use of a cord of small diameter and produce a rug therefrom which will be practical for commei-cial purposes.

A As heretofore stated, the shuttle is projected back and forth across the loom by the striker arms 4; Its speed of projection is relatively great and a substantial strain is placed on the twine at the time the shuttle is struck. If twine of small diameter were used, which is composed entirely of straight lengths of grass, it would not have a sulficient tensile strength to withstand the strain, due to the impact of the striker arms against the shuttle, with the result that the grass forming the body of the twine would either break or tear loose, and thus destroy both the appearance of the completed rug and fits utility for any practical purposes. It is lthat it would wear out in a'comparatively short time. Thus, it has been found neces-V saryheretofore to 'use a grass of substan- ,651' tially large diameter in order to enable the bent about the pins 5 cannot be bent at any material sharp angle without crackin or breaking. Therefore, in weaving rugs from a twine of large diameter, a loosely woven edge is produced, which has to be reinforced by a selvage-bindingstrip. L

By placing an inextensiblel cord or core thread within the body of the twine, such as the cord 9, this kthread will take up all the strain due to theprojection of the shuttle during the weaving operation. That is, when the shuttle is projected by the action of the striker arms, the force ofthis blow will be, communicated practically entirely to the thread 9, owing to its ineXtensible character. This thread is of such tensile strength as to break under the force of the blow, and will snap under Vthe strain imparted to the twine by the action of the shuttle. When this snapping takes place, the forceof the blow, due to the projection of the'shut'- tle, is practically spent,rand thus', as the will be a slight one whichwillV result in onlyl -a slight stretching of the same, and will not be of a nature severe enough to effect a breaking of the grasses Vcomprising the twine, or aseparation of the same. By the use ofthis inextensible thread, the grass is protected from-undue strain due to the weaving operation, and it thus becomes possible to use a' grass of relatively small diameter in producing the rug. By using twine of small diameter, a relatively sharp bend can be placed in the same during the weaving operation, thus making a closely woven edge and eliminating the necessity for using 'a separate binding strip in making the completed rug. Y Y

' I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a

twine forweaving purposes, comprising ka body liller consisting of over-lapping lengths of smooth surfaced grass-'like material, aV

spiral winding threadtherefor` laid under sufficiently light tension to permit stretching of the body-filler, and a center core thread of ineXtensible characteradapted to break when -the twine is subjected' to a stretching strain, whereby the shock of the strain is absorbed and breaking fofV the grasses eliminated, substantially as described. i 2. As a newv article of manufacture, a Vtwine for weaving purposes, comprising a body filler consisting ofV ,over -lapping lengths of sedge,'a spiral windingY thread therefor laid lunder sufficiently light tension to permit stretching of the twine and longitudinal displacement of the straightlaid lengths of grass-like material, and a center core thread of inextensible character adapted to break when the twine is subjected to a stretching strain, whereby the shock of such strain is absorbed and a breaking of the twine eliminated, substantially as described.

3. The process of weaving grass rugs, which consists in loading the shuttle of a loom with a supply of twine composed of overlapping lengths of smooth surfaced grass-like material, loosely bound with a spiral wrapping thread in a manner to permit stretching of the twine and an inextensible core thread, then striking the shuttle across the loom with sutlcient force to break the core thread and thus relieve the grasses from excessive strain and permit a moderate extension of the same, substantially as described.

l. The process of weaving grass rugs which consists in loading the shuttle of a loom with a supply of twine composed of overlapping lengths of sedge loosely bound with a spiral wrapping thread in a manner to permit stretching of the twine and further provided with an inextensible core thread then striking the shuttle across the loom with sufficient force to break the core thread whereby the grasses are relieved from excessive strain during the weaving operation and a moderate expansion of the twine permitted, substantially as described.

OSSIAN T. WAITE.

Witnesses:

D. L. RODERIGK, GEO. J. MEYER.

Copies of thisy patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

